GARY Siddons is hoping shooting holds the key to ending his Paralympic disappointment after his first gold medals in the sport resulted in an international call-up.

The Loughborough based 37-year-old wheelchair athlete used to be a star sprinter and a former World Youth Champion.

He was first reserve for the 1988 Seoul Paralympics wheelchair sprinting team, but didn’t get to represent his country on that occasion.

Now, 21 year later, Siddons is targeting London 2012 and the 10m indoor pistol competition.

And he showed his potential in that discipline recently by winning two gold medals and a bronze at the Fareham Open.

“It’s like a second chance,” said Siddons who only took up shooting a year going after being invited to give it a try by a friend. “It’s great that I might be able to compete in my home Paralympics in front of my family and friends.

“I’ve found pistol shooting to my liking and now I’m travelling all over the country and training four or five times a week.

“I earned a silver in the Scottish Open and a bronze in the Welsh Open previously so it was great to get my first gold medal at Fareham.”

Despite being a relative newcomer to the sport, international honours are already beckoning.

In June he will meet up with the British Performance Squad for the first time. That’s a programme that aims to get all the hopefuls up to an internationally competitive standard.

However all of this comes at a cost.

“I’ve worked out from the programme I have that all the travelling and accommodation I will need to do leading up to the Paralympics will cost me in the region of £30,000,” added Siddons.

“It’s quite a big ask for someone who doesn’t work like me to raise that money.”

Anyone interested in sponsoring Gary can contact him on garza71uk@yahoo.co.uk